For the future IIHF World Championship participants, Olympians, and NHL stars on this year's American U18 team, it simply doesn't get much better right now than blanking Russia in a winner-take-all situation on home ice. Call it a superpower smackdown.

It was the host team's fourth World U18 gold medal. The others came in 2002, 2005, and 2006. The USA has won a medal at the last six straight tournaments, an unprecedented achievement.

Goalie Jack Campbell got his second shutout of the tournament as the USA convincingly outshot Russia 43-17 in front of an overjoyed sellout crowd of 4,923. With the win, the Ron Rolston-coached squad avenged their only loss of an otherwise perfect tournament, a 6-5 Preliminary Round-closing defeat against Russia on April 14.

"Tonight was a culmination of two years of hard work for many of our players," said Rolston. "They sacrificed for each other and they became a family. There is no better way to end the season, and I am really happy for our players."

Russia, which beat the Americans for gold in 2004 and 2007, settled for silver for the second straight year. Russia's all-time U18 record versus the Americans now stands at eight wins and three losses. The Russians have also been shut out by a North American team in the championship game two years running, falling 8-0 to Canada in Kazan in 2008.

The victory was both sweet and poignant for the residents of Fargo and Moorhead, neighbours on the North Dakota-Minnesota border, who have had to stave off the threat of flooding from the Red River in recent weeks.

Just 2:06 in, Cam Fowler delighted the partisan fans by opening the scoring for the Americans with a power play goal, a screened wrister assisted by Drew Shore. Halfway through the period, Matt Nieto beat Russia's Igor Bobkov to make it 2-0 USA.

The Russians took three straight minor penalties to close out the first, but the Americans couldn't cash in again with the man advantage. Nonetheless, it was a true blitz for the host team, which outshot Russia 14-5 in the opening 20 minutes.

And Russia would pay for taking a fourth consecutive minor. At 1:55 of the second period, William Wrenn kept the USA's momentum going with another Shore-assisted power play goal, the one-timer making it 3-0. Although the Americans didn't add any more goals in this period, they once again outshot Russia by an almost identical 14-4 margin.

In the third period, goals 50 seconds apart by Chris Brown and Ryan Bourque killed Russia's dreams of a comeback. A cluster of penalties rounded out the action.

The gold medal triumph was also a testament to the success of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program. All but one of the American players (defenceman Philip Samuelsson) spent this season with the US National Under-18 or Under-17 Team.

Canada – Finland 4-5 (3-1, 1-1, 0-2, 0-0, 0-1)

On the strength of shootout goals by Toni Rajala and Teemu Pulkkinen, Finland earned its first World U18 medal since 2006's silver.

Canada entered this tournament without ever having captured a U18 bronze, and that streak remains intact. It was a disappointing ending for the 2008 champions, who had a 4-1 lead over Finland in the second period and let it slip away.

"We were practising [the shootout] several times, but they won the coin toss and shot first and scored," said Canadian head coach Mike Johnston. "That puts the other team back on their heels."

In regulation time, Dylan Olsen, Zack Kassian, Landon Ferraro, and Peter Holland scored for Canada. Toni Rajala had a pair for Finland, and Janne Kumpulainen and Joni Karjalainen also scored. Rajala, who made it a hat trick with his game-deciding shootout goal, finished as the overall tournament scoring leader with 19 points in six games.

Shots on goal favoured Finland 57-33.

Canada entered this game with the tournament's best power play percentage, having gone 10-for-27, and that skill paid off early. Dylan Olsen opened the scoring on the power play with a high wrister through traffic that beat Finnish goalie Joni Ortio glove side at 5:34.

But the Finns responded with the tying goal just 31 seconds later. With the Finns forechecking down low, Janne Kumpulainen got credit when Canadian defenceman Taylor Doherty inadvertently swept the puck past netminder Michael Zador into his own net.

Canada's first-period forecheck started to take a toll. Finland turned the puck over several times deep in its own zone, leading to multiple bona fide Canadian chances.

Canada broke the game open with two goals in 27 seconds. First, Ryan O'Reilly sprang Zack Kassian loose through the neutral zone with a beautiful backhand pass, and Kassian made no mistake on the breakaway, beating Ortio at 12:29. Then at 12:52, Landon Ferraro, who has been nursing shoulder injuries through this tournament, grabbed the puck in the left faceoff circle and fired a high one home to make it 3-1.

In the second period, the teams traded opportunities, with Canada dominating mid-period and the Finns coming on strong later. Canada went up 4-1 when the Finns couldn't clear the puck out of their zone and Ferraro set up an unobstructed Peter Holland in front of the net at 15:58. A Canadian victory now seemed certain.

But Finland simply refused to quit. With 1:20 left in the period, Rajala capitalized on an Olsen giveaway right in front of the Canadian cage, sweeping the puck past Zador's right pad to make it 4-2.

Early in the third period, the Finns drew to within one goal on the power play. Finnish captain Sami Vatanen spectacularly rushed down left wing and slid a cross-crease pass to Joni Karjalainen, who made no mistake at 4:35.

The Finns started taking the body against Canada, sensing their chance. Dylan Olsen took an untimely delay-of-game penalty for throwing the puck out of his zone, which put Finland on a 5-on-3 power play, and Toni Rajala promptly scored on a one-timer from the right faceoff circle to tie it up at 4-4.

The Finns continued to carry the play with their speed and shiftiness through the remainder of regulation time. With under three minutes left, Zador made a great pad save on Rajala, who rushed to the net and got set up by Teemu Pulkkinen. Then it was off to extra time.

In the first minute of overtime, Ortio made a brilliant save on O'Reilly, who took a drop pass from Cody Eakin and tried to deke out the Finnish netminder. But after that, Finland dominated, and Rajala and Granlund were ever-dangerous. Rajala took a pass from Granlund and pulled a spinnerama move in front of Zador with under four minutes left in OT, zinging the puck into the goalie's pads.

Since 10 minutes of 4-on-4 play settled nothing, the shootout ensued.

Finland won the right to shoot first, and it unfolded as follows (according to the IIHF game-winning shots procedure, in which three different shooters from each team take alternate shots until a decisive goal is scored--and if the game is still tied after three shots by each team, the GWS continues with a tie-break shootout by one player of each team, with the shooting order reversed):

Although Canada didn't accomplish its golden goal, its performance was still a credit to development programs in the motherland of hockey. The Canadians were the tournament's least-penalized squad, and brought well-coordinated team play and solid goaltending.

Perhaps the brightest indicator for the future of Finnish hockey that emerged in this tournament was the presence of Toni Rajala, Teemu Pulkkinen, and Mikael Granlund among the top 10 scorers. Finland has emerged as a goaltending factory in recent years, but has generally lacked the top-end offence it would need to win gold at the IIHF World Championships or Olympics. That might be changing with these exciting young guns.

Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi keyed the Swedish attack with a goal and an assist as Tre Kronor ended its tournament on a modestly happy note. However, the fifth-place finish marks a decline in the Swedish program's performance, as the blue-and-yellow squad came fourth in 2008 and third in 2007.

The Czechs finished sixth in their return to the elite division, two years after being relegated to Division I with a ninth-place flop in Finland.

Adam Polasek gave the Czech Republic a 1-0 lead on the power play at 16:47 of the first period, but Svensson-Paajarvi tied the game up at 6:39 of the second. The Swedes built a 3-1 lead heading into the third period on goals by Anton Lander and Gabriel Landeskrog.

The Czechs made a game out of it when Andrej Nestrasil scored with the man advantage to cut the gap to 3-2 with less than five minutes left. But after Czech goalie Filip Novotny was pulled for the extra attacker in the final minute, Sweden's William Wallen scored into the empty net to clinch it. Sweden outshot the Czechs 39-30.

Switzerland – Slovakia 2-4 (0-0, 2-2, 0-2)

For the second straight year, Slovakia and Switzerland proved to be the two U18 squads that survived the perils of the Relegation Round.

The Swiss, who finished eighth, had already guaranteed themselves a spot in the 2010 tournament before this game in Moorhead.

After a scoreless first period, Reto Schappi got the ball rolling for Switzerland with a power play marker just 39 seconds into the second period.

The Slovaks quickly counterattacked, however, as Juraj Majdan replied with the man advantage at 5:16 and Tomas Stano made it 2-1 with another power play goal at 8:44.

At 14:56 of the second, Switzerland drew even on a Samuel Walser goal assisted by Thomas Mettler.

Unfortunately for Walser, he was in the box for slashing when Daniska tallied on the power play to make it 3-2 two minutes into the third. The Swiss pulled goalie Benjamin Conz with 2:09 left to play, but half a minute later, a scrum erupted in which five minors and a misconduct (the latter to Slovakia's Kristian Grman) were handed out.

Switzerland's gambit failed when Marek Hrivik added an empty-netter to make it 4-2 with 43 seconds left on the clock. Hrivik, Daniska, and Stano all finished with a goal and an assist apiece, while Adam Janosik added a pair of helpers.

Final shots favoured Switzerland 48-37.

Germany – Norway 2-5 (1-1, 0-2, 1-2)

After Slovakia's 4-2 win over Switzerland, this game held no meaning apart from determining which nation would finish ninth and which tenth.

Norway, in ninth place, is relegated just one year after being promoted with a perfect record of five wins in the 2008 Division I tournament in Latvia. Germany, in tenth place, is relegated after participating in the top division each year since 2005.

Although the Germans put out a resilient effort, they were stymied by Norwegian goalie Lars Volden, who stopped 53 of the 55 shots he faced.

Volden's teammates mustered only 23 shots on Germany's Lukas Steinhauer, but capitalized twice at even strength and three times on the power play.

Jonas Oppoyen sparked the Norwegian offense with two goals, and Mats Rosseli Olsen added a goal and an assist. Rosseli Olsen, whose late second-period goal proved to be the winner, was stopped on a penalty shot early in the third.

The Canadians, defending champions from 2008, were just over 10 minutes away from cracking the gold medal game for a rematch with Russia, whom they pounded 8-0 last year in Kazan. But it wasn't to be.

With a furious third-period comeback, the Americans outshot Canada 21-7 and scored two power play goals to come away victorious. Canada will now face Finland for bronze on Sunday. The Canadians have never won a bronze medal at this tournament.

The USA beat Russia for gold in 2002, and lost to Russia in 2007.

After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Canadian defenceman Dylan Olsen notched his first goal of the tournament on a two-man advantage with just 1:22 left in the second period.

Could Canada hold on to that 1-0 lead? No. The USA's Jerry D'Amigo had other ideas.

A product of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, D'Amigo assisted on Jeremy Morin's 1-1 tying goal at 9:27 of the third period.

About four minutes later, D'Amigo added the winner on another power play, with Canada's Garrett Mitchell off for slashing. Canada pulled goalie Michael Zador for the extra attacker with 13 seconds left, but it was too little, too late.

"In the third I thought [the Americans] were skating," Canadian coach Mike Johnston told the Canadian Press. "They carried good speed, they had some quick forwards, and as a result, you sometimes take some penalties against speed like that."

Cam Fowler also added two assists for the Americans. Final shots on goals favoured the USA 44-33.

The Americans last won gold in 2006, defeating Finland 3-1 in the final. The host nation is shooting for its sixth straight medal at the IIHF World U18 Championship.

Finland – Russia 0-4 (0-0, 0-2, 0-2)

Evgeni Kuznetsov led the Russian attack with a goal and three assists and Maxim Kitsyn scored twice in this hard-fought affair. Russia claimed its third consecutive berth in the gold medal game at the IIHF World U18 Championship.

Finland, which will face Canada in the bronze game on Sunday, will seek its first IIHF World U18 Championship medal since 2006's silver. Finland's only bronze in this tournament came in 2001 with a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic.

In a penalty-filled first period, neither Finland nor Russia could capitalize with the power play, including a two-man advantage for Finland.

But in the second period, Kuznetsov fed Kitsyn for a power-play tally at 7:37 that proved to be the game-winner. And exactly one minute later, Kuznetsov scored to give Russia a 2-0 lead.

The teams continued to work hard, exchanging penalties and peppering each other's goalies. Shots in the second period were virtually even, favouring Finland 17-16.

The penalties continued to pile up in the third. The Russians couldn't convert with an early two-man advantage. But they solved Finnish goalie Joni Ortio one more time with under two minutes to go, as Kuznetsov set up Alexander Burmistrov for a 3-0 margin. Kitsyn sealed the victory a minute later with an empty-netter.

Bad feeling spilled over at the end of the game as Russia's Stanislav Solovyov was called for boarding and Finland's Mikael Aaltonen took a five-minute major and game misconduct for charging.

Final shots favoured Finland 51-45.

To date, Russia has won more medals at this tournament than any other nation (three gold, three silver, one bronze).

Slovakia - Germany 4-5 (0-2, 1-2, 3-0, 0-0, 0-1)

Thomas Brandl scored the winning goal in the shootout after overtime solved nothing, as Germany squandered a 4-1 lead but managed to prevail over the Slovaks in Friday's relegation action.

The result means that Norway will be relegated to Division I. If Germany beats Norway and Slovakia loses to Switzerland, Germany will get to stay up if it has more or the same number of points as Slovakia. Otherwise, Germany will be relegated. (If Germany beats Norway in overtime and Slovakia loses to Switzerland in overtime, Slovakia would still stay up based on points.)

A pair of first-period goals by Laurin Braun put Germany up 2-0 in the first period. Slovakia's Tomas Jurco cut the deficit to 2-1 with a goal near the midway mark, but the Germans got two power play goals from Matthias Plachta and Benjamin Hufner to go up 4-1 before the second period ended.

Jurco scored again at 7:28 of the third period, and then set up goals by Adam Janosik and Michael Vandas, the latter with 4:24 left, to force extra time. Slovakia outshot Germany 22-10 in the third and 50-38 on the night.

The USA's offensive firepower was too much for the Czechs and it was reflected in the host team's 58-23 edge in shots. Netminder Jack Campbell recorded his second win for the Americans.

In Friday's semi-finals, the Americans will likely face a tougher challenge against Canada, the defending champion.

Against the Czechs, Drew Shore jumpstarted the American offence with two goals midway through the first period. Even though Antonin Honejsek's power play marker at 14:48 cut the deficit to 2-1, the Czechs weren't able to put up the same kind of fight they did versus Canada.

Matt Nieto beat Czech goalie Filip Novotny for what proved to be the deciding goal just 55 seconds into the second period. Near the halfway mark, Kenny Ryan put the USA up 4-1 with a two-man advantage. Jerry D'Amigo scored the next American goal at 15:52, and then assisted on Jeremy Morin's 6-1 goal with under two minutes left in the period, capping off a three-point game for D'Amigo.

At 4:24 of the third, Ondrej Palat mustered one more power play goal for the Czechs after Chris Brown was sent off for kneeing. But there would be no miraculous rally, as the teams settled for a string of roughing minors down the stretch.

The Americans are gunning for their sixth straight medal at the IIHF World U18 Championship.

The Czechs must now refocus for the fifth-place game versus Sweden, which is Saturday in Fargo.

Sweden – Russia 1-4 (1-0, 0-2, 0-2)

The resurgent Russian U18 program wasn't about to miss a chance to compete for a medal for the third straight year. Russia got two-point performances from forwards Alexander Burmistrov and Evgeni Kuznestov in the victory, and scored in four different game situations.

Against Finland in the semi-finals, Russia will seek revenge for a 7-4 loss to the Finns that opened the Preliminary Round.

Sweden, which has never won an IIHF World U18 Championship, finished out of the medals for the second straight year.

Sweden opened the scoring at 16:39 when Jacob Josefson, a centre for Djurgarden of the Swedish Elitserien, capitalized on a play set up by Oliver Ekman-Larsson and William Wallen.

But just 5:09 into the second period, the Russians had an answer, as Dmitri Orlov tied the game with the man advantage. And with 45 seconds left in the middle frame, Kirill Kabanov notched the eventual winner on a setup from team scoring leader Vladimir Tarasenko, who earned his 15th tournament point in five games.

The Swedes had an opportunity to tie it early in the third period when Kabanov went off for hooking, but instead, Burmistrov made it 3-1 on a shorthanded set-up from Kuznetsov.

The clincher came with 8:10 remaining when Kuznetsov scored on a penalty shot.

As both teams took penalties in the dying minutes, the Swedes pulled goalie Robin Lehner on two separate occasions in a desperate comeback bid. But they couldn't generate anything on the scoreboard, even though the final shots favoured Tre Kronor 45-31. Russian netminder Igor Bobkov earned his third win of the tournament.

On Saturday, Sweden will play the Czech Republic to determine fifth and sixth place.

Switzerland – Norway 7-3 (3-1, 4-1, 0-1)

Outshooting Norway 42-26, the Swiss built an early three-goal lead and just kept going en route to a lopsided Relegation Round win. Switzerland took over possession of top spot in the group with six points, including three points carried over from Tuesday's 8-3 win over Germany.

Norway, which sits pointless, will likely be relegated to Division I, unless it gets some serious help from Germany, which plays Slovakia on Friday and Norway on Saturday. This is Norway's first year at the elite level of the IIHF World U18 championship since 2006.

The Norwegians clicked three times with the man advantage, but even though they got as close as 3-2 early in the second period, they couldn't compete with Switzerland at even strength.

Tristan Scherwey led the Swiss attack with two goals and two assists, while Benjamin Antonietti added a goal and two assists, and Gaetan Haas had three helpers. For the Norwegians, Mats Rosseli Olsen assisted on all three goals.

In one of the most exciting games of the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championship so far, Russia outlasted the USA despite being outshot 55-26. Vladimir Tarasenko sparked the Russian attack with three goals and an assist.

Finland, the USA, and Russia finished tied with 9 points apiece after the Preliminary Round and were tied with three points apiece in head-to-head games. Finland obtained top spot in Group B and a bye into the semi-finals due to its superior goal differential (10-8) based solely on games between those three teams, which is the first IIHF tiebreaker. The USA (9-9) got second and Russia (10-11) third.

In Thursday's quarter-finals, the USA will play the Czech Republic and Russia will play Sweden.

After an early penalty parade, the Americans jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead on goals by William Wrenn and Chris Brown.

But the Russians roared back to grab a 3-2 lead midway through the second period, as Evgeni Kuznetsov, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Kirill Kabanov scored. Jeremy Morin knotted the score at 3-3 at 14:17 of the middle frame.

However, even after William Wrenn put the Americans up 4-3 on the power play early in the third, the Russians couldn't be contained. Tarasenko tied the game at 8:50 of the third, and then completed his hat trick, putting Russia up 5-4 with a solo shorthanded effort less than two minutes later. Maxim Kitsyn scored what proved to be the winner with under four minutes left, as Jeremy Morin's second of the game brought the USA close but not close enough.

The Americans pulled goalie Adam Murray for the extra attacker with less than a minute to go, but the victory belonged to Russian netminder Igor Bobkov.

Slovakia – Finland 0-7 (0-3, 0-2, 0-2)

The line of Toni Rajala, Mikael Granlund, and Teemu Pulkkinen continued its torrid pace, combining for 10 points as Finland blanked Slovakia in its Preliminary Round closer.

Finland, the USA, and Russia finished tied with 9 points apiece after the Preliminary Round and were tied with three points apiece in head-to-head games. Finland obtained first place in Group B and a bye into the semi-finals due to its superior goal differential (10-8) based solely on games between those three teams, which is the first IIHF tiebreaker. The USA (9-9) got second and Russia (10-11) third.

Finnish goalie Joni Ortio got his first shutout of the tournament as Finland outshot Slovakia 55-11.

Toni Rajala set the tone by scoring just 28 seconds into the game. Jere Laaksonen made it 2-0 at 6:10, and then Teemu Pulkkinen finished off a play with his linemates at 13:49.

That was all the Finns really needed, but they pumped in two more goals in each of the remaining periods. Remarkably, they didn't score on the power play until Mikael Aaltonen's 7-0 goal with just over 10 minutes to play. That was the end of Slovak goalie Juraj Holly's night, and he was replaced by Tomas Pek. After that, the teams closed out the game with a string of penalties.

Canada – Sweden 4-2 (2-0, 1-2, 1-0)

Joey Hishon led the way with two goals as Canada earned top spot in Group A in a hard-fought battle that was hyped as a potential preview of 2009 and 2010 NHL first-round picks. The Swedes, who finished second, will face off in quarter-finals action Thursday against the third-place team in Group B.

Brett Connolly added a goal and an assist and John McFarland had two helpers for Canada, which finished the Preliminary Round with three regulation-time wins and one overtime win.

The defending champions managed to hold such highly touted offensive forces as Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi and Oliver Ekman-Larsson off the scoresheet.

Canada broke the game open late in the first period when Byron Froese and Hishon scored goals 36 seconds apart. Sweden responded early in the second period with Gabriel Landeskog's power play goal, but Hishon beat Swedish goalie Robin Lehner on a rebound to make it 3-1 at the five minute-mark.

Tre Kronor wasn't finished, however. Tim Erixon cut the deficit to 3-1 at 11:40 of the middle frame on the power play.

Back and forth the teams went in the third period, but Sweden simply couldn't solve Canadian netminder Michael Zador despite firing 16 shots on goal. Connolly sealed Canada's victory with an empty-netter with 16 seconds left.

On the night, Canada outshot Sweden 43-38. Last year, Canada edged Sweden 3-2 in the semi-finals en route to gold.

Switzerland – Germany 8-3 (1-0, 4-2, 3-1)
Talk about a disappointing day for Deutschland.
On Tuesday, the Germans had a chance to secure a quarter-final berth at the IIHF World U18 Championship for the second straight year. All they needed was a single point versus Switzerland. But instead, the Swiss played spoilers in Moorhead, building an insurmountable second-period lead en route to their first tournament victory.

The result means both Germany and Switzerland will compete in the Relegation Round this year.

Nino Nieddereiter paced the Swiss attack with two goals and an assist, while Sven Bartschi and Reto Schappi had a goal and an assist apiece. Romain Loffel added a pair of helpers.

The Swiss got off to a sloppy start, as goalie Benjamin Conz took a delay-of-game penalty at 3:22 and his teammates followed that up with a too-many-players-on-the-ice minor at 6:18. But Nino Nieddereiter opened the scoring for Switzerland with four minutes left in the first period.

Then, to the shock of German fans, Matthias Rossi and Sven Bartschi extended Switzerland's lead to 3-0 with two goals in 28 seconds early in the second period.

By the midway point, the Germans had clawed their way back into contention with an even-strength tally from Julian Bogner and a power-play marker by Dennis Steinhauer.

But five minutes after the latter goal, Nieddereiter made it 4-2 for the Swiss with the eventual game-winner on a feed from Mathieu Maret. Reto Schappi closed out the second-period scoring for Switzerland, beating German netminder Lukas Steinhauer at 18:56 with the man advantage.

The Swiss added insult to injury in the third period, pumping in three more goals, while Marcel Ohmann got one more past Conz with under seven minutes remaining.

It was a far cry from the last Germany-Switzerland meeting at this tournament. On April 21, 2005, Germany blanked Switzerland 2-0 in the Relegation Round.

One message from this game? Watch out for the new generation of Finnish snipers.

Finland's Toni Rajala notched three goals and four assists in the tournament's biggest one-man offensive outburst to date, as the Norwegians suffered their fourth straight loss. Teemu Pulkkinen racked up three goals and three assists, and Mikael Granlund had a goal and five assists.

The Finns, who hit double digits in goals for the first time at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championship, moved into second place in Group B with six points. They close out their Preliminary Round Tuesday versus Slovakia. Norway is destined for the Relegation Round.

Granlund assisted on Finland's first two goals by Pulkkinen at 12:32 and 16:32, and then Erik Haula added the 3-0 marker at the buzzer.

Regrettably for the Norwegian penalty-killers, Finland's next two goals in the second period were both shorthanded efforts by Rajala, assisted by Granlund. Mikael Aaltonen made it 6-0 Finland halfway through the game, before Norway finally wrecked Finnish goalie's Erno Suomalainen's shutout aspirations when Petter Roste Fossen scored at 14:12.

But the Finns pumped in three more goals before the period ended, including the completion of Rajala's natural hat trick and two more Granlund assists.

To start the third period, Norwegian goalie Chris Henrik-Nygaard was mercifully replaced between the pipes by Lars Volden. The final 20 minutes were chippy and penalty-dominated, highlighted only by Pulkkinen's third goal to round out the scoring with 2:31 left. Final shots were 66-18 for Finland.

USA – Slovakia 12-0 (3-0, 4-0, 5-0)

Coaches love to talk about getting better period by period. The USA actually accomplished that feat versus the outmatched Slovaks, scoring one goal more each period en route to a 12-0 triumph in front of a happy Fargo crowd.

It was the largest margin of victory so far at this tournament. And it gave the Americans sole possession of first place in Group B.

On Tuesday, the USA will attempt to nail down top spot and a bye to the semi-finals with a win over Russia, while Slovakia must beat Finland that day for a shot at a quarter-final berth.

Versus Slovakia, top American gun Kevin Lynch set the tone with two goals to open the first-period scoring. After David Valek made it 3-0 with 3:46 left in the period, that was all the Americans really needed.

But they kept coming, and when John Henrion scored the 5-0 goal exactly halfway through the game, Slovak starting goalie Tomas Pek got sat down in favour of Juraj Holly. The USA simply responded by potting a pair of power-play markers before the end of the second period.

Five more goals followed in the third, including three with the man advantage. Jeremy Morin's solo effort with two minutes left completed the scoring at 12-0.

When the Star-Spangled Banner was played afterwards, the line about the “rocket's red glare” unavoidably brought to mind images of the red goal light flashing behind the Slovak net.

Brett Connolly's second goal of the tournament at 1:53 of overtime lifted Canada to a comeback 4-3 victory over the Czechs in Fargo. With a scrum in front of the Czech net after shots by Byron Froese and Simon Depres, Connolly, a product of the WHL's Prince George Cougars, came in as the trailer and converted the rebound over Czech goalie Filip Novotny.

The Canadians, defending champs from 2008, remain unbeaten with three win, two in regulation time. The Czechs, with four points, could finish third in Group A or head to the Relegation Round if Germany beats Switzerland on Tuesday.

Canada will face off versus Sweden on Tuesday in a battle for first place in Group A. The winner gets a bye into Friday's semi-finals, while the loser will take on the third-place team in Group B in Thursday's quarter-finals.

It was Canada's first win over the Czechs at this tournament since a 3-2 victory in the 2005 quarter-finals.

Through 40 minutes, it looked like the Czechs would prevail. Despite failing to score on the power play with three consecutive opportunities in the first period, they drew first blood on Antonin Honejsek's third tournament tally at 15:35.

The Czech team's discipline was less than perfect, as they took checking-to-the-head penalties late in both the first and second periods. Yet they appeared to be on cruise control after building a 3-0 lead in the middle frame on goals by Michal Poletin and Daniel Horek.

However, Canada erupted in the third period, outshooting the Czechs 23-4. John McFarland kickstarted the rally at 2:06 on a setup from Byron Froese. Suddenly it was 3-1.

Just 10 seconds later, Ryan O'Reilly cut the deficit to 3-2. And when Czech goalie Filip Novotny was called for delay of game at 5:04, it took a mere four seconds of power play time before Erik Gudbranson beat Novotny and tied the game at 3-3.

After the remainder of regulation time solved nothing, could Canada complete its rally against the dispirited Czechs? Connolly answered that question with a resounding “Yes.”

Final shots favoured Canada 51-33.

Sweden – Switzerland 11-0 (3-0, 5-0, 3-0)

Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi is the hottest Swedish pro prospect not named Victor Hedman, and the fleet-footed winger demonstrated why on Monday in Moorhead, leading his team with five points in an 11-0 rout of Switzerland.

The result sets up a Canada-Sweden clash for top spot in Group A on Tuesday. Sweden's goal differential is 23-4 through three games, while Canada's is 23-6, so fans are expecting an exciting, evenly matched affair.

The winless Swiss, who have scored just three goals while allowing 25, are bound for the Relegation Round.

Svensson-Paajarvi got the onslaught started at 5:40 with the first of four Swedish power play goals on the day. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Patrick Cehlin extended Sweden's lead to 3-0 with late-period goals 31 seconds apart.

Svensson-Paajarvi scored his second of the game at 4:20 of the second period, crushing any Swiss hopes of a rally. When Sweden's lead soared to 7-0 after three goals in a mid-period span of 1:31, Swiss goalie Leon Sarkis was yanked in favour of Benjamin Conz. But it made no difference, as Carl Klingberg scored with the man advantage to make it 8-0 just over a minute later.

Three more Swedish goals in the final 10 minutes completed the shellacking. In addition to Svensson-Paajarvi's exploits, big offensive outings were enjoyed by Oliver Ekman-Larsson (2 G, 2 A), William Wallen (1 G, 3 A), and Anton Lander (4 A).

LUCAS AYKROYD]]>on topon top03 Canada18 Sweden19 Switzerland04 Czech Republicon rightChannel News WC09 IIHFon righton leftTue, 14 Apr 2009 02:38:00 +0200Belarus U18s promotedhttp://www.iihf.com/channels0809/wm18/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=3317
After shaky start, Belarus wins tournament at homeBelarus, which was relegated last year, was the favourite in Minsk but lloked shaky in the first game, needing a shootout to defeat Hungary, which was newly promoted from Division II. Hungary was close to the upset when Belarus blueliner Evgeni Nogachev equalized only with six vs. three skaters at 59:55.

The two points were earned and the struggle ended after that as Bealrus rolled through the rest of the event. They beat Poland (4-1), Ukraine (5-0), Lithuania (3-0) and Kazakhstan (6-1) to win the tournament.

Hungary had surprisingly good tournament which ended with the bronze medal. They continued with victories against Lithuania (4-3), Kazakhstan (6-1) and Ukraine (5-0). Only a 9-0 loss against Poland prevented Hungary from winning silver, which went to Poland.

Kazakhstan with two wins and Lithuania with one missed the podium, while Ukraine was relegated to Division II. The Ukrainians lost all games with a four or five-goal margin.

The Belarusian triumph was characterized by a strong defence, which only allowed six goals, and a well-balanced team. The scoring title went to the more offensive Poles which have three players among the best four scorers. Bartlomej Neupauer was the best with five goals and six assists.

When the Czech Republic fell 4-3 to Germany on Sunday in Group A action in Moorhead, there was a certain feeling of déjà vu. That's because on April 20, 2007, Germany sent the Czechs down to Division I with a 6-3 win in relegation play.

Sunday's result was another major blow to Czech hopes, even though both the Germans and the Czechs now have a record of one win and two losses.

Germany is questing for its second straight U18 quarter-final berth, and could secure that with a victory over the winless Swiss on Tuesday. The Czechs may find it tough to crack the top three in Group A, as they finish their Preliminary Round versus powerhouse Canada on Monday.

In the victory over the Czechs, the Germans brought a balanced attack, as 10 different players recorded a point. They also benefited from the fine goaltending of Lukas Steinhauer, who faced 43 shots.

Just 54 seconds into the first period, Marcel Ohmann beat Czech goalie Marek Mazanec to open the scoring for Germany. Marc El-Sayed scored his third goal of the tournament on the power play midway through the period to stretch the lead to 2-0.

When Tobias Rieder made it 3-0 Germany at 7:20 of the second period, the Czechs yanked Mazanec in favour of Filip Novotny. That move seemed to provide a spark, as Robin Soudek got his team on the board just over three minutes later on a two-man advantage.

But the Czechs lost the momentum again in the first minute of the third period. An interference call against Adam Polasek led to a quick Matthias Plachta power play goal, making it 4-1 Germany.

The Czechs would come close, but not close enough, down the stretch. They generated power play goals from Andrej Nestrasil and Antonin Honejsek, the latter with just 3:40 left. A late slashing minor taken by Polasek doomed the Czechs' chances of knotting the score.

Germany's other previous U18 victory over the Czech Republic was a 3-1 decision on April 17, 2001.

Norway – Russia 1-8 (0-4, 0-1, 1-3)

After walloping Slovakia 7-2, the Russians enjoyed their second straight easy romp at this tournament, jumping out to a 4-0 first-period lead and never looking back against Norway.

With a goal and two assists, Vladimir Tarasenko, a 1991-born forward who plays for the KHL's Sibir Novosibirsk, took over the tournament scoring lead with 10 points.

Numerous other Russians boosted their statistics. Sergei Chvanov scored twice, Evgeni Kuznetsov added two goals and an assist, Nikita Zaytsev had a goal and two assists, Alexander Burmistrov had a goal and an assist, and Kirill Kabanov and Maxim Kitsyn had two assists apiece.

The Russian power play clicked three times, and Russia outshot Norway 52-24, including a 23-6 margin in the first period. Beleaguered Norwegian netminder Lars Volden has faced a total of 117 shots in his two starts so far.

Following a disappointing loss to Finland, Russia's offense exploded versus Slovakia in a 7-2 victory in Moorhead.

Vladimir Tarasenko led the way with two goals and two assists, as Russia earned its first win of the tournament. Maxim Kitsyn also had two goals for the winners. Dmitri Orlov notched a goal and two assists, and Sergei Chvanov and Kirill Kabanov had a goal and an assist apiece.

Tarasenko got the lone goal in a penalty-filled first period. The Russians picked up their intensity in the second period, notching two goals in the first 1:21, including a solo power-play strike by Dmitri Orlov and Maxim Kitsyn's 3-0 goal, set up by Evgeni Kuznetsov and Alexander Burmistrov.

Toward the midway point, the teams traded shorthanded tallies. Sergei Chvanov made it 4-0 Russia, and Jozef Kentos finally got one past Russian goalie Igor Bobkov just over three and a half minutes later.

But when Kitsyn made it 5-1 Russia at 13:40 of the second--again assisted by Kuznetsov and Burmistrov--that effectively ended Slovakia's hopes of mounting a comeback. Slovakian goalie Juraj Holly was yanked in favour of Tomas Pek to start the third period.

Even though Miroslav Bobocky cashed in with a power play goal at 1:31 of the third, Kabanov and Tarasenko added goals in the final 10 minutes to finalize Russia's victory.

Russia outshot Slovakia 40-39.

The Russians take on Norway on Sunday, while Slovakia faces the USA on Monday.

USA – Finland 4-3 (2-0, 2-0, 0-3)

Kevin Lynch sparked the attack with a goal and two assists as the USA stayed perfect atop Group B at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championship with a narrow 4-3 win over Finland. Through two games, Lynch leads all American scorers with six points.

Despite mounting a furious third-period rally, Finland saw its record drop to one win and one loss.

The Americans built up a 4-0 lead in the first two periods. After A.J. Treais beat Finland's Joni Ortio to make it 1-0 at 6:02 of the first, Jerry D'Amigo gave the USA a two-goal lead midway through the period.

D'Amigo then set up Lynch for the 3-0 goal at 12:46 of the second period. When Chris Brown notched his first of the tournament with 55 seconds left before the buzzer, an American triumph seemed certain.

But the Finns would increase their tempo. Just 12 seconds into the third period, Mikael Granlund spoiled USA netminder Adam Murray's shutout bid with his first goal of the tournament.

Teemu Pulkkinen made it 4-2 on a Jonas Nattinen set-up with 5:02 remaining, and Erik Haula made it 4-3 with under four minutes left. But that was as close as the Finns would get.

Nattinen had two assists for Finland, which outshot the Americans 39-31.

Finland faces Norway on Monday, while the USA takes on Slovakia that day.

Sweden – Germany 5-4 (2-1, 1-1, 1-1)

After opening with a big win against the Czechs, the Swedes struggled to put the feisty Germans away in their second outing.

When Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi gave Sweden a 5-2 lead at 4:27 of the third period, it looked like the game was over. But then Tre Kronor took three out of the next four penalties, including a kneeing major and game misconduct to Patrick Cehlin, who had scored Sweden's 3-1 goal in the second. German defenceman Dennis Steinhauer made it 5-3 on the power play at 7:36 of the third.

Marc El-Fayed, with his second tally of the evening, got Germany within one goal with just under 10 minutes left and Sweden's Tim Erixon in the box for high-sticking. (Erixon, otherwise, enjoyed a strong game with three assists.)

The Germans ran into penalty troubles of their own down the stretch, and didn't manage to pull goalie Lukas Steinhauer for the extra attacker. Swedish goalie Robin Lehner got his second win in a row. Final shots on goal favoured Sweden 50-37.

For Sweden, Anton Lander contributed a goal and two helpers, and Svensson-Paajarvi and Calle Jarnkrok had a goal and an assist apiece. Gabriel Landeskog also scored for Sweden, which currently sits in second place in Group A.

Germany's other goal was a shorthanded tally by Tom Kuhnhackl, son of the legendary Erich Kuhnhackl. Germany will look for its first win of the tournament when it takes on the Czech Republic on Sunday.

Canada – Switzerland 8-1 (2-1, 3-0, 3-0)

The Canadians retained their grip on first place in Group A, hammering the hapless Swiss for their second straight win. Thus far, the defending champions have an impressive 19-3 goal differential.

Ethan Werek opened the scoring with a pair of first-period power play goals, marking his second consecutive two-goal game. Although Switzerland's Nino Niederreiter cut the gap to 2-1 on the man advantage with 47 seconds left in the first, Canada blew the game open in the second.

After Ryan O'Reilly stretched Canada's lead to 3-1 at 7:55 of the middle frame, Joey Hishon potted a pair of goals to make it 5-1.

Hishon completed his hat trick at 6:03 of the third period. Late goals by John McFarland and Zack Kassian rounded out the scoring at 8-1. McFarland, a 1992-born rookie with the OHL's Sudbury Wolves, also racked up three assists.

Much like against Germany, the Canadian power play was outstanding versus Switzerland. The Swiss took eight minors, and Canada converted on five occasions. Canada outshot Switzerland 32-25.

Canada gets a day off before facing the Czechs on Monday. Switzerland will face Sweden that day.

When the Czech Republic was relegated to Division I in 2007 at the IIHF World U18 Championship in Finland, it was a huge blow to the country's junior development program. It was therefore vital for this year's freshly promoted Czechs to respond with a win versus Switzerland after losing 7-0 to Sweden to start the 2009 tournament.

The Czechs came through with a 6-2 victory in Moorhead, but it wasn't a model of artistic perfection. After Antonin Honejsek gave his team a 1-0 lead in the first period, Switzerland's Gaetan Haas tied it up early in the second on a two-man advantage.

No sooner had the Czechs regained the lead on Jakub Jerabek's shorthanded marker at 6:19 than they took two back-to-back minors for too many players on the ice. During the first of those Swiss power plays, Tristan Scherwey made it 2-2.

The Czechs pulled away after that, with Adam Polasek scoring the eventual game-winner with 4:31 left in the second period. They led 5-2 heading into the third period, and Roman Horak added one more at 2:25 of the final stanza.

However, the Czechs finished the game in undisciplined fashion, taking five consecutive two-minute penalties for an overall total of 12 minors, the same number as versus Sweden. It's an issue that will have to be addressed if this team plans to challenge for a medal.

Previously, the Czechs have won three bronze medals at this event (2002, 2004, 2006). They face Germany on Sunday, while Switzerland will confront the defending champions from Canada on Saturday.

Slovakia – Norway 5-2 (0-0, 3-0, 2-2)

Although the Norwegians played better than in their opening 8-0 loss to the USA, it wasn't enough to save them versus the more-talented Slovaks.

After a scoreless first period, Andrej Stastny gave Slovakia the game-winning goal late in the middle frame, and also added an assist. Marek Hrivik and Dalibor Bortnak had a goal and an assist apiece as well. The other Slovakia scorers were Peter Sisovsky and Michael Vandas.

The Norwegians made it interesting when Sondre Olden and Magnus Lindahl scored in the first half of the third period to cut the Slovak lead to 3-2. But Vandas put the Slovaks up 4-2 with 5:56 left, and then Bortnak sealed the victory with an empty-netter.

Slovakia outshot Norway 42-20. Slovakia's next game is versus Russia on Saturday, and the Norwegians will take on Russia on Sunday.